Google's self-driving vehicles are set to hit the roads soon. Waymo, the company that Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. created to develop its driverless vehicles, will deploy the Chrysler Pacifica minivans in certain US cities in late January.
At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Waymo announced that the self-driving Pacifica minivans will be seen on public roads in Mountain View, California and Phoenix, Arizona, The Verge reports. The Pacifica minivans, a product of a deal between Waymo and Fiat Chrysler announced in May last year, were shown off at the event.
To slash production costs, Waymo produced in-house all the technologies that power self-driving cars, such as cameras and sensors, instead of outsourcing them. Reports quote Waymo CEO John Krafcik as saying building its own LIDAR sensors alone has enabled the company to cut 90 percent of its costs. It just had to spend $7,500 for sensors that Google bought for $75,000 eight years ago.
Krafcik said cheaper production costs will enable Waymo to bring self-driving technology to millions of consumers, Bloomberg reports. He did not say when exactly it will be available to consumers, but raised the prospect of it being used in personal and public transportation, as well as logistics.
Waymo's development of its own technologies for self-driving cars, particularly sensors, is expected to give it an edge over other companies entering the business. According to Engadget, Waymo can integrate its sensor hardware, software, and image recognition tightly through in-house development.
Waymo's self-driving Chrysler Pacifica will be in competition with other major brands that are set to release their autonomous vehicles in a few years. Companies like Tesla, BMW, Ford, Audi and Volvo, as well as new players like Faraday Future, will all offer self-driving cars soon.
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